First SeaMade turbine towers arrive at Ostend port

The first two turbine towers destined for the SeaMade offshore wind project have arrived at the Port of Ostend, Belgium.

According to Otary, the first six tower parts arrived in Belgium on 24 March from the port of Avileson in Spain onboard the special purpose vessel Rotra Vente.

Over the coming months, Rotra Vente and its sister vessel Rotra Mare will ship all wind turbine components, including 58 nacelles, 174 tower parts and 174 blades, from various sites to the REBO site in Ostend.

The main activity at REBO will be the storage of parts, the pre-assembly of the tower parts to complete towers, and loading of the installation vessel Apollo that will install the turbines.

Otary emphasized that works are being continued to keep the construction of SeaMade on schedule despite the COVID-19 crisis.

“We are aiming for a timely completion of Belgium’s largest offshore wind farm, despite the current Corona crisis, as this is an important step in the country’s energy transition,” said Mathias Verkest, Otary CEO.

“58 8 MW wind turbines should produce enough electricity to provide 485.000 Belgian households of green energy thanks to a close collaboration and extreme commitment of a dedicated and highly experienced team and contractors.”

The 487MW SeaMade wind farm is a combination of the 235MW Mermaid and the 252MW Seastar offshore wind projects.

Recently, two substations were installed at the site located some 50km off the coast from Ostend.

The installation of the 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4MW turbines is scheduled to begin in spring. Full commissioning is expected by the end of the year.